COHERENT SCATTER MODES

As coherent scatter radar, Jicamarca radar is sensitive to 3-m atmospheric and ionsopheric irregularities. Moreover, in the ionosphere these irregularities have to be aligned with the magnetic field. From atmospheric irregularities working mainly in the MST (Mesosphere, Stratosphere and Troposphere) mode, the radar gets measurements of the 3D neutral wind velocity, i.e., zonal (u), meridional (v) and vertical (w).
In this mode the radars can measure vertical and horizontal plasma drift velocities via the echo Doppler shifts (radial velocity) and/or interferometry (giving velocities transverse to the beam direction) from irregularities in the E and F regions. From these one can determine the electric fields (from V = E x B/B2) and sometimes wind velocities.
The recent imaging studies of the irregularities in the equatorial electrojet by Dr. David Hysell, using 6 receivers (15 different baselines aligned in the east-west direction) is impressive. To appreciate the power of this work watch at some of the “movies” on the web by visiting http://landau.geo.cornell.edu/ and clicking on “ftp” at the bottom of the page to get a list of available mpeg movie files (image0424c is a recomended one.) In some cases individual “blobs’” are clearly seen moving horizontally and vertically and there is radar Doppler information (color coding) for each blob as well. Other examples show shear, with blobs at one altitude moving east and those at another altitude moving west.
In the table below, we summarize the main coherent scatter modes currently available. Click on the Modes to get more details on the technique and some results.